Transmission for textile lapping machines



@et 5, 1954 D. F. RINGIE 2,690,679

TRANSMISSION FOR TEXTILE LAPPING MACHINES Filed Jan. 50, 1952 lNvENToR DONALC FmGlE ATTORN Patented Oct. 5, 1954 TRANSMISSION FOR TEXTILE LAPPING MACHINES Donald F. Ringie, North Adams, Mass., assignor to James Hunter Machine Company, North Adams, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application January 30, 1952, Serial No. 268,959

(Cl. 'M -324) 2 Claims.

This invention relates to lapping machines for forming layers of carded liber, such as wool or cotton. The principal object of the invention is to provide an improved machine ofthis type, in which the reciprocation of the carriage carrying the lap-apron is effected in a more simple and eflicient manner and provides a more uniform thickness of the lapped material than in prior machines of this type.

In the conventional lapping machine, the carded ber is delivered in a single layer or sheet by a continuous conveyor to an accumulating or lapping apron on a so-called bat-carriage. This carriage is located below the discharge end of the ber conveyor and is reciprocated lengthwise of the direction of travel of the conveyor, so that the liber sheet is laid in a zigzag course on the lapping apron to form a lap of the desired thickness. At the same time, the lapping apron is driven on the bat-carriage in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the movements of the conveyor and the carriage, thereby transferring the lapped or folded material to the next operation, where it is usually wound into a roll. It is desirable, of course, that the lapped material be of uniform thickness from selvage to selvage. This means that the dwell of the reciprocating bat-carriage, each time it reverses its movement, should be reduced to a minimum. Otherwise, the fiber conveyor (which discharges the ber sheet at a uniform rate) will deposit too much material at the margins of the lap on the lapping apron,

and the selvages of the lapped material will be substantially thicker than the intermediate portions.

I-Ieretofore, the bat-carriage has been reciprocated by shifting a pair of oppositely driven belts back and forth on a set of pulleys, the shifting of the belts being effected by members moving with the carriage and engaging part of the beltshifting mechanism near the end of each stroke of the carriage. Such an arrangement, however, leaves much to be desired, not only from the aspect of minimizing the dwell of the bat-carriage at the end of each stroke, but also from the point of view of the over-all construction of the machine, adjustments, repairs, etc.

A' lapping machine made according to the present invention comprises a motor-driven shaft for operating the bat-carriage and having a pair of driving members loosely mounted thereon. A coupling element rotates with the shaft, prefer-- ably between the loosely mounted driving members, and is slidable back and forth along the shaft by a cam plate movable on the stationary bed or frame of the machine. As the bat-carriage nears the end of each stroke, an actuator thereon shifts the cam plate in the direction of the stroke, whereupon the cam plate operates through a follower and a lever to shift the coupling element in a transverse direction with respect to the carriage path. In this way, the coupling element is shifted along the drive shaft in first one direction and then the other, at the ends of the carriage strokes. These movements of the coupling element cause it to engage rst one and then the other of the loosely mounted driving members on the drive shaft, and thereby couple the driving members alternately to the shaft through friction clutches. Adjacent the drive shaft is a counter-shaft connected to a sprocket or other rotatable device for moving the bat-carriage along its track. The counter-shaft carries two driven members reversely connected, respectively, to the driving members on the drive shaft. For this purpose, one pair of driving and driven members preferably consists of intermeshing gears on the shafts, while the other pair preferably consists of sprockets connected by a chain,

With this construction, the shifting of the coupling element by the bat-carriage and cam plate causes the driving of the carriage to be interrupted momentarily as the coupling element moves from one of the driving members to the other on the drive shaft. As soon as the coupling element engages the other driving member, it-applies a braking force through the clutch to overcome the momentum of the bat-carriage, since the driving members are reversely connected to the counter-shaft which moves the carriage. Accordingly, the clutching action quickly stops the carriage and immediately drives it in the opposite direction. When `the cam plate is again actuated in the opposite direction, the coupling element is returned into engagement with the first driving member so as to stop and reverse the carriage movement through the corresponding clutch.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawing in which the single illustration is a perspective View of a preferred form of the new machine, with parts broken away.

Referring to the drawing, the machine comprises a stationary frame I having longitudinal members on which the bat-carriage B is movable. Two of these longitudinal members are shown at one side of the frame at la. The details of the bat-carriage and the supporting frame are not frame members Ia and has a depending ear 4a in which one end portion of a rod 5 is slidable longitudinally of the frame. The other end portion of the rod 5 is slidable in a similar support (not shown) on the frame. A fork 6 is secured to and movable with the bat-carriage. The fork 6 is arranged between a pair of abutments 'I-'la on the rod. Thus, when the bat-carriage nears the end of one stroke on the frame I, the fork 6 engages the abutment 'la and slides the rod 5 a short distance to the right, as viewed in the drawing. When the bat-carriage nears the end of its stroke in the opposite direction, the fork 6 engages the other abutment 'I and slides the rod 5 in the opposite direction so as to return it to its initial position.

The rod 5 carries a cam plate 9 having a coniigurated slot. This slot comprises two straight portions .9a-9b interconnected by a slanted portion 9c. A pin or follower extends through the slot Ba-Sb-Sc and into a transverse slot 4b in the plate 4. This pin is mounted on the end of anv arm |I pivoted at IIa to a lever I2. The lever I2 is secured to a vertical shaft I3 rotatably mounted in the cover Ida of a housing III secured to one of the longitudinal frame members Ia. At the lower end of the shaft I3 is an arm I5 having a swivel connection with a fork or a yoke I6. The arms of the fork I6 extend into a groove formed in a collar Il slidable longitudinally on a drive shaft I8, the latter being mounted in suitable bearings in the housing III. The collar Il is splined to the drive shaft, as shown at I'Ia, so that the collar rotates with the shaft. It will be apparent that when the cam plate 9 is shifted longitudinally from one position to the other by the bat carriage, the inclined slot portion 9c slides the follower I0 transversely of the rod 5, thereby swinging the arms I2 and I5 about the axis of the vertical shaft I3. In this way, the collar I1, which may be termed a coupling element, is moved back and forth on the shaft I8, depending upon the direction in which the cam plate 9 is moved by the bat-carriage fork 6.

A pair of driving members 20-2I is loosely mounted on the drive shaft I8 near the opposite ends of the housing I4. As shown, the driving member 20 is a gear, and the driving member 2| is a sprocket wheel. These driving members are connected to clutch housings 20a and 2| a, respectively, containing the friction clutch elements 22. Upon movement of the coupling collar I'I in one direction, it makes driving engagement with a disc 2lb which is connected through the friction clutch 20w-22 to the gear 20. Upon movement of the coupling collar I'I in the opposite direction, it makes driving engagement with a disc 2lb connected through the clutch 2|af-22 to the sprocket wheel 2|. Thus, reciprocation of the coupling collar Il, under control of the bat-carriage fork 6, causes the gear 20 and the sprocket wheel 2| to be coupled alternately 4 to the drive shaft I8 through the respective clutches 20a-22 and 2Ia-22. The shaft I8 has a pulley 23 located outside the housing I4, and this pulley may be connected to an electric motor (not shown) for driving the shaft I8.

A counter-shaft 25 is rotatably mounted in the housing I4 and extends parallel to the shaft IB. The counter-shaft 25 carries two driven members 26 and 21, the member 26 being a gear meshing with the gear 26. The driven member 21 is a sprocket wheel connected by a chain 28 to the sprocket wheel 2|. The counter-shaft 25 is connected to a sprocket wheel or other rotatable device (not shown) for moving the bat-carriage and its fork 6 along the frame I. For example, the shaft 25 may be arranged to drive the sprocket wheel 5l disclosed in the aforesaid Rundlett patent.

In the operation of the machine, when the coupling collar Il is in engagement with the clutch disc 2 Ib of gear 25, the counter-shaft 25 is driven in one direction through the clutch 26a, and gears 2li- 26. As a result, the bat-carriage and its fork 6 are moved to the right, as viewed in the drawing. At this time, cam plate 9 and rod 5 will be in their extreme left-hand positions, as viewed in the drawing, so that the pin ID is in the straight portion 9b of the cam slot. When the carriage fork -S engages the abutment la, the continued movement of the carriage shifts the rod 5 and plate 9 to the right, whereby the inclined slot portion 9c shifts the pin I0 and the arm I I toward the stop 3|. Accordingly, the vertical shaft I3 is turned counter-clockwise so as to shift the yoke I6 to the right. This causes the coupling collar I'I to disengage the clutch disc 2lb of gear 2D and engage the corresponding disc of the sprocket wheel 2|, this movement of the parts being limited by the stop 3| when the pin I0 is engaged in the straight portion 9a of the cam slot. This shifting of the coupling collar I 'I breaks the driving connection to the gear 26 and establishes a driving connection through clutch 2|a, sprocket wheel 2|, chain 28 and sprocket wheel 21 to the counter-shaft 25, so that the latter is rotated in the opposite direction. When the sprocket wheel 2| is first coupled to the shaft I8 by the shifting of collar I1, the momentum of the bat-carriage will cause a continued rotation of counter-shaft 25 in its initial direction, (that is, the direction in which it was driven by gear 20), and the clutch 2 la will slip to allow this rotation. However, the clutch Zia transmits to the sprocket wheel 2| a torque which rst overcomes the momentum of the bat-carriage so as to stop it before the end of the slot portion 9a engages pin I0, and then reverses the direction of the counter-shaft 25 and the bat carriage and its fork G.

The carriage fork 6 now moves to the left until it engages the other abutment 'I on rod 5, whereupon the cam plate 9 is shifted to the left. This causes the slanted portion 9c of the cam slot to move pin I0 and arm II away from the stop 3| so that the vertical shaft I3 is turned clockwise. As a result, the yoke I6 is shifted to the left and moves the coupling collar I'I out of engagement with the clutch disc 2lb of wheel 2| and into engagement with the corresponding disc of gear 20. 'Ihe driving connection through chain 28 is thus broken, and the driving connection through gear 20 is reestablished to drive the countershaft 25 in its original direction, the clutch 20a functioning in the same manner as the clutch 2|a to overcome the momentum of the batcarriage and then reverse its direction.

The friction clutches 20w- 2 I a may be of any suitable type. The friction imposed by each of the clutches 20a, 2Ia, when the coupling collar I1 has been fully shifted into engagement with the corresponding disc 2lb, will determine the rate of deceleration of the bat-carriage at the end of its stroke and the rate of its acceleration as it begins the reverse stroke. Consequently, the duration of the periods of deceleration and acceleration of the bat-carriage may be controlled by proper selection of the clutches ZIJa-Zla or, by adjusting the friction imposed by the clutches, if they are of the adjustable type.

It will be apparent that the speed at which the coupling collar I 'I is shifted from one position to the other will depend upon the inclination of the slanting portion 9c of the cam slot. As the coupling collar moves into engagement with either of the clutch discs 2lb, the force exerted by the collar against this disc will increase due to the camming action of the slanted slot portion 9c. This increasing force may be used to advantage to cause a more or less gradual buildup of the torque transmitted by the friction clutch members 22, to avoid undue jarring of the machine when the movement of the bat-carriage in either direction is arrested.

The stopping positions of the bat-carriage 6 at the ends of its strokes may be varied by adjusting the abutments '1 -1a longitudinally on the rod 5.

It will be apparent that the fork 6 constitutes an actuator on the bat-carriage B for operating the shifting means for the coupling element l1, such shifting means comprising the rod 5, cam 9, follower l0, levers Il, l2 and I5, and yoke I6.

I claim:

1. In a lapping machine having a bat-carriage movable on a frame, the combination of an actuator movable with the bat-carriage, a batcarriage operating shaft for moving the carriage and said actuator on the frame, a drive shaft, a pair of driving members loosely mounted on the drive shaft, a coupling element rotatable with the drive shaft and slidable longitudinally thereon into driving relation with said members alternately, friction clutches interposed between the coupling element and the driving members and through which said element is adapted to drive said members, a driving connection including a gear between one of said members and the operating shaft, for driving the operating shaft in one direction, a second driving connection between the other member and the operating shaft for driving it in the opposite direction, a cam slidably mounted on the frame and reciprocable by the actuator, a housing secured to the frame adjacent the cam and containing said driving members, coupling element and driving connections, a lever system supported by the housing and connected at one end to the coupling element, and a follower at the other end of the lever system engageable by the cam to shift the coupling element into driving relation with said members alternately through said clutches.

2. A combination according to claim l, comprising also a guide member on the frame having a slot extending generally transversely of the direction of movement of the cam and receiving the follower.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 293,790 Schofield Feb. 19, 1894 1,978,355 Rundlett Oct. 23, 1934 2,585,114 Gredell Feb. 12. 1952 

